[Fishfirst]

-IN PROGRESS-
Name: Firefish, Fire Goby, Magnificent Dartfish, or Fire Dartfish
Scientific name: Nemateleotris magnifica
DISTRIBUTION - Coral Sea, Indo-pacific, and Maldives
HABITAT - These fish are found in groups near reef heads feeding in the current, but also hide in the reef rock at night or when threatened.
SIZE - 3 inches
TANK SIZE - minimum 20 gallons, optimal 30 gallons or more
DIET- Planktonic creatures that drift in the ocean currents in the wild, will take many different foods in captivity including Mysis shrimp, Brine shrimp, Flake foods, blood worms, little bits of seaweed/algae/algae flakes, as well as live foods.
TANK ZONE - Midlevel, usually hovering in the current when comfortable, hiding in the rockwork when they are threatened or sleeping.
TEMPERAMENT - Aggressive to con-specifics, many accounts of schools dwindling away to one individual for no apparent reason, best as a single fish or in a mated pair, or have at least 2 square feet of surface area per fish to cut down on aggression, although this still is not recommended. Non-aggressive to tank mates.
CHEMISTRY:
pH - 8.0-8.4
Specific Gravity - 1.020-1.026
TEMPERATURE - around 26C, 75-79F
PHOTOPEROID - Equatorial to sub tropic 10-12 hours per day, seasonal differences negligible
SENSITIVITES - Sensitive to low water quality, quick pH changes or salinity changes.
HARDINESS & LIFESPAN- Fairly hardy, this fish does have a problem with internal parasites and can be identified by a large bulge in the stomach region and white stringy feces.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION - Long slender torpedo like body with a long slender dorsal fin that looks like a large spine. White posterior with yellow to orange to dark red/black anterior. Some neon blue/purple streak markings on top of head and or above the eye. Dorsal, caudle, and anal fins run along all of the anterior portion of the body looking like a continuous fin.
SEXES – hard to determine
ACTIVITY PEAK - Diurnal
HABITS - These fish are often found in groups in the wild and feed off of the ocean currents found at reef heads. Each has their own bolt hole for them to go into to escape predators. Often these can be seen suspended in the current twitching their dorsal fin in display. A very timid fish in aquaria, best to keep your hoods on as they often “abandon ship” when intimidated and jump out of the tank.
SPAWNING - Not well known, there have been a few accounts of them pairing up and even fewer accounts of them spawning in captivity.
COMPATIBILITY – Firefish get along with many fish in the home aquaria. Gobies, blennys, cardinalfish, grammas, dragonets, chromis, and other smaller species work the best, but can also be kept with tangs, and reef safe wrasses. Avoid anything that will eat small fish or excrete toxic substances.
REEF AND INVERT COMPATIBILITY – Firefish are reef and invert safe.